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Abki baar, asli tyohaar! Dholis, folk singers swamped with pre-bookings
Tricity residents can’t wait for Lohri celebrations to begin
Tricity residents can’t wait for Lohri celebrations to begin. While hoarding rewari-gajjak, peanuts and popcorn, they have also been busy pre-booking dholis for a grand ‘post-pandemic’ celebration.
Event organisers say they have been getting query calls and pre-booking requests for Punjabi tappe singers and dholis since October last year.
This year there will be grand celebrations as people missed out on it in the last 2-3 years due to Covid-19. “We have been getting good business. Folk singers who were going out of business are also in demand this year as the pandemic made people grow closer to their roots,” says Satbir Singh, of Chandigarh Dholis and DJs.
“This year people will get to celebrate the festival in this true grandeur. People are so excited, they we are expecting good tips too this year,” says Bittu, a dholwallah.
“We have 13 dholis and all of them are booked throughout the day on January 13th and 14th. People are organising huge parties this year. Our regular customers are also back so the spirit is high,” says Gurdeep Chahal, of Giani Dhol Services.
Baljeet Singh, a Panchkula-based dholwallah, says, “The fear of Covid is gone, so, people are in a celebratory mood. I was getting a lot of queries for folk singers so I’m collaborating with one for all the booking. We have planned out all the sets and are excited to see the response.”
Keerat Kaur, a Punjabi tappe and boliyaan singer, says, “I have five shows booked for Lohri. The most requested number is, of course, ‘Sundar Mundariye’. But some customers have also requested that we prepare Lohri songs from Punjabi and Hindi films including the Lohri song from Veer Zaara. Daily riyaaz is on and we are hoping for some good shows.”
Shanky, of Mohali Dholis and Boliyaan, says, “Our entire crew, which includes eight dholis, five DJs and five folk singers, is fully booked for Lohri. We earned well on pre-bookings and dholi-DJ packages and are still getting last minute queries. We are trying to get some hire a temporary crew from Patiala or Ludhiana for the day to meet the client requirements.”
